St Helens school slammed by Ofsted for ‘dull and poorly planned lessons’

Andy Moffatt

Ofsted inspectors say a St Helens secondary has a long way to go before it can be removed from special measures.

De La Salle was placed in special measures in January last year.

Inspectors returned to the school at the end of the summer term but only recently published its findings.

Inspector Sally Kenyon wrote: “Having considered all the evidence, I am of the opinion that at this time leaders and managers are not taking effective action towards the removal of special measures.

“The quality of teaching is not improving quickly enough because the leadership and management of teaching and learning are not strong enough.”

The report also criticised departments for not sharing enough good practice.

Mrs Kenyon’s report goes on: “The head teacher cares deeply about achieving the best outcomes for all pupils, but there is insufficient experience, support and expertise within the senior leadership team to rapidly raise standards.”

The report also states there has been some good progress but that has been undermined by “poorly planned and dull” teaching.

They added: “Some of the most able pupils misbehave in lessons because they are bored. Some of the least able pupils become disengaged from learning because they have insufficient support to help them read and write properly.

“Pupils rightly feel that sanctions are applied inconsistently, this leads to a feeling of inequality.

“Too many pupils make little or no progress in lessons because what they are learning is boring or too easy.”